Innovation and Economic Development Advisory Group Report to Steering Committee May 29, 2015

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1 Innovation and Economic Development Advisory Group Report to Steering Committee May 29, 2015 Advisory Group membership Advisory Group Members The Honorable Doug Smith, Commissioner, Martin County (representing Florida Association of Counties)(Chair) John Walsh, Canaveral Port Authority (representing Florida Ports Council) (Vice Chair) Alice Ancona, Florida Chamber of Commerce Ken Armstrong, Florida Trucking Association Karl Blischke, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Mark Bontrager, Space Florida Andra Cornelius, CareerSource Florida Cori Henderson, Enterprise Florida Suzanne Hurst, Florida Association of Destination Marketing Organizations (representing Visit Florida) Jack Osterholt, Deputy Mayor, Miami-Dade County Susan Pareigis, Florida Council of 100 Crystal Stiles, Florida Power and Light Carlos Roa, Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization (representing Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council) Gina Reynolds, Florida s Heartland REDI, Inc. (representing Rural Areas of Opportunity) Pat Steed, Central Florida Regional Planning Council (representing Florida Regional Councils Association) Jack Wert, Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau (representing Visit Florida) The Honorable Warren Yeager, Commissioner, Gulf County (representing Small County Coalition) Designees Toy Keller James Kuzma Megan McDonald

2 Key issues & ideas/approaches identified by the Advisory Group Key Issue 1: Continue to position Florida as a global hub for trade, logistics, manufacturing, and related services Increase the efficiency, capacity, and connectivity of Florida s major seaports, airports, spaceports, and intermodal rail terminals, including: o Greater operational capacity through increasing cargo density, accelerating cargo processing and transfer speed, expanding operating hours, and using new technologies; o Strategic investments in increased physical capacity; o Improved last-mile connectivity from other modes, including truck dray routes and on-dock rail; and o Expanded global connections, including the number of direct international flights and the number of first-call import and last-call export ocean carriers. Promote the creation of clusters of logistics, distribution, and advanced manufacturing businesses in strategic locations with access to major highways and rail facilities, consistent with regional visions and economic development strategies. These could include intermodal logistics centers, and foreign trade zones. Increase the efficiency, capacity, and connectivity of the truck, rail, and water corridors that carry the majority of Florida s domestic and global trade, including: o Increased operational efficiency of existing corridors through strategies such as developing managed lanes or incorporating new technologies; o Targeted improvements to the capacity of existing commerce corridors to help reduce bottlenecks or better accommodate heavy freight movement; o Separation of freight and passenger traffic on shared highway or rail corridors; and o Continued planning and development of new statewide and interregional corridors. Increase the efficiency of the supply chain and distribution network supporting Florida s businesses and consumers, including: - 2 -

3 o Improved balance of inbound and outbound freight shipments through increasing exports of Florida-made products; and o Expanded use of technology for asset tracking and load matching. Expand the use of new technologies for freight movement, such as automated and connected truck technologies, drones, blimps, and hyper loops

4 Key Issue 2: Enhance Florida s position as a destination for domestic and international visitors Protect and improve the quality of the visitor experience in Florida by providing transportation facilities and options that are efficient, safe, convenient, and comfortable. Increase the efficiency and diversity of multimodal transportation connections between high-density visitor attractions and major transportation hubs. Expand transportation options for visitors to travel between Florida s regions, including improved intrastate air, rail, and water transportation services. Provide transportation options for visitors that promote Florida s unique historic, cultural, and natural resources, such as Old Florida roads, scenic highways, regional and interregional trails, and waterways. Improve terminal infrastructure and expand connectivity to other modes to make Florida s airports and seaports more attractive for investment, including direct international and domestic flights and cruise activity. Emphasize quality customer service, including use of multi-lingual or universal signage to support growth in domestic and international visitors. Adapt airports, seaports, and other infrastructure to accommodate the increasing size of cruise ships and airplanes as well as changing customer expectations for service and quality. Strengthen partnerships between transportation and tourism development organizations

5 Key Issue 3: Align transportation investments with strategic economic development opportunities in Florida Coordinate short-term transportation system maintenance, operations, and capacity decisions with economic development and job creation activities involving Florida s statewide targeted industries, including: o Working with economic development organizations to identify and coordinate short-term transportation and other infrastructure investments needed to support immediate business expansion, retention, and attraction opportunities, with emphasis on competitive projects; and o Monitoring private sector business location and capital investment decisions to identify potential changes in transportation demand and prepare for changes to infrastructure maintenance, operations, and capacity. Coordinate long-term, strategic transportation investments to support development of statewide and regional talent and innovation clusters, consistent with the Florida Strategic Plan for Economic Development and regional visions and economic development strategies, including: o Working with statewide and regional economic development organizations to develop targeted transportation investment strategies that support established innovation clusters, encourage emerging clusters, and catalyze cluster development in Rural Areas of Opportunity. o Developing strategies to support specific needs of different clusters, including their supply chains, such as access to sites for manufacturing investments or facilitation of shipments of oversize/overweight vehicles and equipment to support the aerospace cluster. o Formalize partnerships and communication protocols between transportation and economic development agencies at the statewide, regional and local levels, including the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Enterprise Florida, CareerSource Florida, Visit Florida, Space Florida, and other state agencies and partnerships. Encourage private sector companies involved in research, development, manufacturing, and service activities for transportation equipment and technology to locate and expand in Florida

6 Key Issue 4: Strengthen and connect resources across Florida s economic regions to build a globally competitive Florida. Expand the options for transportation connectivity between communities within common economic regions, building on regional visions and plans. Expand cost-effective, multimodal options for transportation connectivity between all of Florida s economic regions, building on regional visions and plans. Continue to proactively plan for future statewide and interregional transportation corridors, including coordination with surrounding land uses and with compatible utility and other linear infrastructure. Better align transportation and economic development priorities on a regional scale. Provide incentives or support realignment of boundaries to help strengthen collaborative partnerships among transportation, economic development, regional planning, and other entities to enable more efficient and effective decision making

7 Key Issue 5: Support development of a world-class workforce in transportation and other industries Strengthen regional talent supply systems for transportation, trade, and logistics that reflect the unique assets and market opportunities for Florida s economic regions, including: o Collect and maintain statewide and regional data on talent supply and demand, including anticipated retirements of existing workforce, in transportation and related industries such as logistics and manufacturing. Identify and close talent supply gaps, including gaps in knowledge, skills and abilities in critical occupations. o Develop new or strengthen existing career pathway partnerships among employers, educational institutions, workforce and economic development organizations, and transportation agencies to develop core skills, provide workers with continuous education and training, and place workers in highdemand jobs. o Develop new or strengthen existing targeted education and training programs focusing on transportation, trade, and logistics in both secondary and postsecondary institutions, focusing on industry-recognized credentials and hands-on learning and apprenticeships. o Emphasize initiatives to promote career opportunities in transportation and logistics, particularly to younger workers and workers transitioning from other fields. Create new or expand existing centers of talent and innovation in transportation related fields such as aerospace/aviation, maritime, and logistics. Encourage transportation agencies and authorities including airport, seaport, spaceport, transit, and highway operators to include talent supply elements in their long-range plans

8 Key Issue 6: Strengthen and maintain a competitive business climate for transportation and other industries Reduce the time and improve the predictability of the process for planning and developing major transportation projects. Improve the ability of businesses involved in transportation to accomplish registration, permitting, and other regulatory transactions, through: o Enhancing regulatory processes to improve customer service, reduce transaction times, and improve reliability, for example, establishing eligibility criteria for expedited services ; o Adapting regulations and processes to reflect new types of technologies (e.g., automated vehicles) and services (e.g., shared vehicles) and to encourage innovation. Improve soft trade infrastructure such as customs, immigration, testing, and certification processes through technology and partnerships that expand self-service options and streamline processing steps to timely and efficiently meet business and visitor needs

9 Implementation Issues as Identified by the Advisory Group Collaboration and coordination o Collaborating to achieve regional and community visions is important because one size does not fit all. The Advisory Group recognized that there is value in having statewide principles that allow flexibility for regional implementation. In particular, the group noted the need to continue strong coordination among transportation, economic development, workforce, and tourism organizations. Maintaining existing strengths o The Advisory Group mentioned the need to build upon the successes of the past few years and extend effective programs such as the Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) and the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development (FSTED) program. Technology and innovation o The Advisory Group discussed the importance in which technology can help us make better and more efficient use of the existing system, improve how we move people and goods, and improve business processes. Funding o The Advisory Group recognized the need to have sufficient and reliable funding to accomplish all of these ideas and approaches. Implementation and performance monitoring o The Advisory Group discussed the need to have a clear process for implementation of this plan, including specific actions and responsibilities and a way to monitor progress over time